1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cooling of a tool grinding machine and a cooling apparatus of a tool grinding machine. In particular the invention relates to a nozzle carrier being configured to be mounted to a tool grinding machine.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Tool grinding machines are machine tools for grinding tools or similar parts from typically essentially cylindrical workpieces, e.g. to manufacture drill bits, milling cutters and the like. During the grinding process the grinding disc and the workpiece heat up. This heat imposes restrictions on the grinding speed and thus on the number of workpieces being finished per unit of time. To enhance the grinding speed, liquid cooling of the grinding process can be considered to be current state of the art. A cooling liquid, the so called coolant is provided via coolant tubes to the grinding disc and the workpiece. The higher the coolant flow, the higher the grinding speed. But enhancing the coolant flow increases the cost for cooling and thus for the grinding process. Examples for grinding cooling systems are disclosed e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 9,393,671 B2, US 2003/0100245, U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,606 or EP 1 195 224 A1, to name only a few. Most publications suggest to apply a coolant jet tangentially to the grinding disk's radial surface (i.e. to the grinding surface). The coolant shall preferably be applied to the grinding disc with the circumferential speed of the grinding disc. The teachings of these publications are quite different with respect to the preferred application of the coolant. For example, EP 1 195 224 A1 suggests not to direct a coolant jet from a nozzle to the machining region, US 2003/0100245 A1 in contrast suggest to spray the coolant between the grinding tool and the workpiece.
WO 2014/035789 A1 suggests a coolant nozzle carrier with a header portion supporting two fluid manifolds. The fluid manifolds are removable attached to a center leg by a snap-in mount system, enabling to change the legs without the use of tools. The fluid manifolds are firmly attached to the header portion during operation of the machine tool.
EP 2404704 A1 suggests to pivot coolant nozzle of a machine tool automatically if the grinding tool's dimensions are reduced due to wear of the grinding tool.
EP 0 305 616 A1 suggests to attached a so called “body block” comprising a fluid channel to a tool holder of a machine tool. The fluid channels enables to provide coolant flow via a nozzle pointing to the machining point.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,130 suggests a grinding machine with grinding wheel being protected by an arcuate frame. The frame is adjustable to accommodate different grinding tool and supports coolant nozzles.